Cloth advancing mechanism for wire weaving machines



H. L. THOMPSON CL'OTH ADVANCING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WEAVING AMACHINES Originl Filed April 3, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 9, 1937.

@l if Feb. 9, 1937. H. I .THoMPsoN CLOTH ADVANCING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WEAVING MACHINES Original Filed April 5, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 employed in my previous application. Only the Patented Feb. 49,-1937" UNITED STATES CLOTH ADVANCING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WEAVING MACHINES Herbert L. Thompson, Elgin, Ill., assignor to Reynolds Wire Co., Dixon, Ill., a. corporation of Illinois Original application April 3, 1933, Serial No. 664,192. Divided and this application October 21, 1935, Serial No. 45,979

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a cloth advancing mechanism for use in a wire weaving machine.

The present application is a division from my Patent No. 2,022,225, issued November 26, 1935 filed April 3, 1933.

It is my object to provide a cloth advancing mechanism or cloth feed of such a kind and so arranged in the machine with relation to the other operative parts as to maintain proper tension upon the Warp wires at all times during the weaving operations.

It is particularly my object to provide such a device which eliminates dancing or jumping of the weaving point and to eliminate imposing on the warp Wires and the woven cloth such variations in tension or strain as are experienced in the present commercial machines.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my cloth advancing mechanism for wire weaving machines, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional View through a portion of a Wire weaving machine or loom having a cloth advancing mechanism embodying my invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a rear elevation of the upper part of the machine, parts being broken off.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of my wire advancing mechanism.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the upper part of the machine, parts being omitted.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the upper part of the machine viewed from the opposite side from that shown in Figure 4, parts being omitted.

It is my purpose to provide a wire advancing mechanism for a loom of the kind shown in my Patent No. 2,022,225, into which loom the wire is fed at the rear end. The wire is tensioned and guided forwardly in the loom and thence upwardly through the heddles and thence through the mechanism, which is the subject of my pres ent invention.

In the drawings herewith, I have used in practically all instances the same numerals that are front part of the loom` is here shown, since that is all that is necessary to illustrate the present invention.

The side frame members of the loom are indicated at I5-15. At the lower part of the front part of the loom, as illustrated in Figure 1, I have shown parts marked A. These are parts for guiding and controlling the tension of the warp Wires I0. The parts A with other parts not `here illustrated are also the subject of my copending application on a Warp feed, Serial No. 44,021, led October 8, 1935.

In the drawings herewith, the heddles are illustrated somewhat diagrammatically at B and the beater and comb at C.

The Woven cloth is drawn` to the top of the machine by the mechanism now to be described, which is the subject of the present application.

The woven cloth travels over a breast roll 16 supported by suitable anti-friction bearings, not here illustrated, on a transverse shaft 11, which is in turn supported on the main frame members l5. Upon one end of the breast roll 16 is fixed a gear 18, illustrated ,in Figures l, 2, and 3, which preferably has a pitch diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the breast roll.

The shaft 19 (Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4) is journaled in one of the main frame members 15 and the bracket 89 which is supported on the main frame. Oh the shaft 'I8 is a gear 19a (Figure 2), which meshes with the gear T8 on the breast roll.

Intermittent fractional rotation is imparted to the shaft 18 and gear 19a. at each machine cycle by the following means:

On the shaft 'I9 is xed a ratchet wheel 8| (shown for instance in Figures 3 and 4). The ratchet 8l is actuated by the pawl 82 pivoted by the pin 83 on the oscillating arm 84. The pawl is yieldingly pressed toward the ratchet 8l by means of the spring 82a connected to the arm 84 and to an arm 82h on the pin 83. The arm 84 is pivoted on the shaft 19 and rocks around the shaft through a limited arc.

The rearward end of the arm 84 is pivoted to a link 85 which extends downwardly and is pivoted at its lower end on a crank pin 86. The crank pin 86 is adjustably mounted on the pinion 81 so that the pin can be located at different distances from the center of the pinion. 'I'he mounting is an ordinary screw and friction locked variable feed, indicated generally at 86a in Figure 4. The pinion 81 is fixed on the main drive shaft 46 (Figure 2).

To prevent reverse movement of the ratchet 8|, it is engaged by a spring-loaded pawl 83a pivoted on the bracket 80 in such position as to coact with the ratchet.

Brackets 9| extend upwardly from the main frame members and are provided in their upper parts with vertical slots 90. A transverse shaft 88 has its ends received in the slots 90 above the lower ends thereof.

Resting on the tops of the ends of the shaft 88 in the slots 98 are plates 88a upon which are helical compression springs 89, above which are plates 88h. The plates and springs are contained in slots or seats machined in the upper portions of the walls of the slots 90. The upper ends of the slots are covered by plates 92 bolted to the trolling the tension of the springs 89 and determining the downward pressure imposed on the shaft 88.

Near each end of the shaft 88 and between the frame members l5, a pair of oppositely inclined arms S4 and 95 have their upper ends pivoted on the shaft.

The arms 94 carry a shaft 91 on which a roller 9S is journaled by suitable anti-friction bearings not shown.

Similarly the arms 95 carry the shaft 98 on which is journaled the roller 99a by suitable antifriction bearings not shown. The parts are so arranged that the rollers Sil-99a rest on the breast roll 'I6 on opposite sides thereof, as best shown in Figure 1.

An endless belt |60 of rubberized fabric or the like is extended around the rolls 99, 99a, so as to embrace the top of the breast roll 76, for a substantial portion of its circumference, and so that any rotation of the breast roll will tend to drive the belt |00 and the rolls 99 and 99a by frictional contact.

The frictional pressure of the belt on the breast roll may be regulated by means of the screws 93.

Downward pressure caused by adjustment of the screws 93 will tend not only to cause the belt |00 to bear more tightly against the breast roll, but will also tend to force the rolls 99-99a downwardly against the breast roll and to therefore spread or separate the rolls Sil-99a for increasing the gripping action of the belt |00 on the breast roll Without forcing any of the members out of their proper relations.

The weaving point or weaving line, where the weft wires are moved to their ultimate position in the completed wire cloth, is located just a few inches below the point at which the belt lll makes contact with the rear surface of the breast roll. The finished Wire cloth passes between the belt lili) and the surface of the breast roll 'I6 and is held by a rm grip for its entire width and for length along the warp equal to that portion of the breast roll circumference embraced by the belt.

. Intermittent rotation of the breast roll by means already described serves to feed the nished wire cloth and warp wires through the machine by intermittent steps.

-Since the pressure applied on the Wire in the breast roll by means of the belt l0@ may be varied as desired, it is evident that the feeding means or wire cloth advancing means is positive and may be made suiicient for any range of tensions that may be imposed on the warp wires in practical weaving operations.

'I'he wire is rmly and positively gripped because the coacting surfaces of the breast roll 16 and the endless belt lil press equally upon both the warp wires and the weft wires of the woven cloth and tend to grip them firmly, at their junctions.

In addition to advancing the cloth through the machine, the feed mechanism serves another function. When the cloth enters the vise-like grip of the feed mechanism, to-Wit, the roll 'i6 and endless belt lim, pressure is applied at each wire junction suicient to reduce any wire crimps or high spots in the cloth.

As wire cloth is ordinarily woven, the outside or selvage warp wires are never crimped in the loom. The weft Wire in looping around these rigidity to cause the warp wires to bend around the weft wire. As a consequence, the weft wire loop ordinarily simply twists a trifle, and the selvage wire is not crimped. Quite often in ordinary looms, a similar effect is noticeable upon the warp wires immediately adjacent to the selvage wires but in a considerably modified degree.

Furthermore, ordinarily the constant rolling of the cloth upon the take-off mandrel forces some crimp into the selvage due to the effort to press all the cloth into a two wire thickness. However, in the Weaving, the lack of the crimp in the. selvage Wires results in loose selvage wires and it is a common principle to use weights or other expedients, applied to the outside Warp wires to maintain their weaving tension.

In my application on a Warp feed, Serial No. 44,021 I have shown a means for obtaining proper tension on the selvage wire feed.

In the present machine, the direct pressure applied by the belt just above the weaving point or weaving line serves to force a very fair crimp into the wires near the edges 0f the cloth. Experience shows that this action is suicient to eliminate the usual tendency of wire cloth to roll into an hourglass shape.

The arrangement here contemplated eliminates certain evils found in ordinary commercial looms, particularly by imposing a uniform pull on the wire cloth closey to the Weaving point or weaving line.

In ordinary commercial looms, the finished wire is usually wound on a wind-up member, and tension is provided by means of a transverse weighted roller bearing upon a bight in the cloth. A takeup mandrel is provided, and during the rotation of the mandrel the weighted roller is ordinarily lifted and lowered. Each time, it trips a wind-up clutch. Similarly in the commercial machines, the` warp is generally fed by a gear controlled rotation of a warp drum or beam and is constant so far as the angular velocity of the drum is concerned. This does not, however, result in precise accuracy in the length of the warp wire supplied to the machine for each cycle of operation, because as the warp wire is paid off the drum, the roll is constantly decreased in radius and consequently there is a constant reduction of spaces between the weft wires in the finished cloth. Furthermore in such looms, a considerable length of the nished cloth is constantly subjected to full weaving strain.

As the beater drives the reed through the warp for forcing the weft wire into place, a considerable forward impulse is given. Since wire is elastic, this forward impulse puts a strain upon the warp wire and results in a temporary forward displacement of the weaving point, due to such elasticity.

At the finish of the beater stroke, there is a recoil of the wire. This is what is known among weavers as jumping or dancing of the Weaving point. It is very annoying and is a source of inaccuracy in the spacing of the weft wires. Furthermore the forward impulse of the beater in ordinary looms being conveyed to the elastic cloth and from there to the weighted tension roll mentioned above, causes that roll to take sudden drops and results in oscillation or jumping thereof, which reduces the speed of the loom on account of the inertia of the weight roll.

Furthermore in commercial looms now in use, the Wind-up mandrel is the nal warp tension support because the wire is stretched between it and the drum. Warp tension is established and maintained by this member. At the beginning of a run, the cloth is wound at a tangent of perhaps a two inch radius. After each layer of cloth is added to the roll on the intermittently rotating mandrel, the radius at which it is received is greater by the thickness of one cloth layer. Since the weight roll imposes an average uniform tension on the cloth, it is obvious that the application of each layer of cloth on the roll on the mandrel imposes a greater torsional stress upon the mandrel. The cloth being attached at one end to the mandrel must carry the same torsional load on the inside convolution as the mandrel, and if the roll becomes twice the size of the mandrel, the cloth next to the mandrel is subject to stress nearly twice the weaving tension. As this stress or tension sometimes reaches the elastic limit of the wire, permanent elongation of the wire sometimes results. Since the warp wires vary in their elastic limits, some stretch more than others, and it sometimes results in what is known as pulled cloth. When the pull is bad enough, the cloth can not be marketed.

My present machine is free from the evils mentioned above.

It will be observed that the final weaving point is immediately adjacent the cloth advancing means and variable stretching of the warp and of the cloth is prevented by the fact that the feeding or advancing means is positive and the tension created on the cloth is much more nearly uniform than in ordinary commercial machines.

I nd that as the beater and comb raise a weft wire into place, there is no noticeable jump of the weaving point. This is apparently true because any force expended in this operation must overcome the entire warp tension.

The cloth not being weight fed remains stationary above the weaving point under the thrust from the comb, since the feeding means is stationary when the comb operates and while sustaining the tension exerts no pull, and if the comb should exert suicient lift, it would merely bend the cloth between the comb and the feed mechanism, because the comb would take the entire load.

The force exerted in picking up a weft wire does not add to the weaving tension between the warp rolls (not here shown but illustrated in my copending application on a Warp feed, Serial No. 44,021) and the feed unit, but merely momentarily supports a portion of the total warp strain, which is normally supported by the feed or cloth advancing unit during the remainder of the machine cycle.

Thus the warp is not subjected to varying periodical strains to the extent experienced with ordinary commercial machines, but is constantly strained by a downward pressure of the whip roll, shown in my said last-named co-pending application, which allows merely such tension variations as are represented by its action in controlling the tension brake, also shown in my said copending application.

From the foregoing, it is plain that the friction feed here shown gives precise control to the movement of the cloth instead of the variable control resulting from the old weight roll feed.

The present friction feed permits perfect spacsiderable extent and delivers the cloth free of tension or undue strain of any kind to the wind-up device or to the open floor for subsequent processing.

It will be understood that it is my purpose to make my claims as broad as possible in view of the invention disclosed, and to cover by the claims any modifications in materials, construction of parts or arrangement of combinations, which may reasonably be within their scope and the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a weaving machine, means for drawing cloth through the machine, including a breast roll, a pair of rolls arranged respectively on opposite sides of the breast roll, above the center and below the top thereof, an endless band extending around said pair of rolls only, and over a substantial portion of the upper part of the breast roll, a slidably mounted shaft above the breast roll, pairs of arms pivoted to the shaft, said pair of rolls being journaled between the arms of the respective pairs, and means for imposing yielding downward pressure on the shaft for holding the band tightly against the breast roll.

2. In a weaving machine, means for drawing cloth through the machine, including a breast roll, a pair of rolls arranged respectively on opposite sides of the breast roll, above the center and below the top thereof, an endless band extending around said pair of rolls only, and over a substantial portion of the upper part of the breast roll, a slidably mounted shaft above the breast roll, pairs of arms pivoted to the shaft, said pair of rolls being journaled between the arms of the respective pairs, means for imposing yielding downward pressure on the shaft for holding the band tightly against the breast roll, and means for intermittently imparting rotary movement to the breast roll.

3. In a weaving machine, means for drawing cloth through the machine, including a breast roll, a pair of rolls arranged respectively on opposite sides of the breast roll, above the center and below the top thereof, an endless band extending around said pair of rolls only, and over a substantial portion of the upper part of the breast roll, a slidably mounted shaft above the breast roll, pairs of arms pivoted to the shaft, said pair of rolls being journaled between the arms of the respective pairs, means for imposing yielding downward pressure on the shaft for holding the band tightly against the breast roll, said last means comprising springs adapted to impart their pressure to the shaft, and means for tensioning the springs.

4. In a weaving machine, means for drawing cloth through the machine, including a breast roll, a pair of rolls arranged respectively on opposite sides of the breast roll, above the center and below the top thereof, an endless band extending around said pair of rolls only, and over a substantial portion of the upper part of the breast roll, a slidably mounted shaft above the breast roll, pairs of arms pivoted to the shaft, said pair of rolls being journaled between the arms of the respective pairs, means for imposing yielding downward pressure on the shaft for holding the band tightly against the breast roll, said last means comprising springs adapted to impart their pressure tothe shaft, and adjustable means for tensioning the springs.

HERBERT L. THOMPSON. 

